Saturday, July 16, 2011

No Tell Motel To Close Doors

When I launched No Tell Motel with Molly Arden back in August 2004, I had no idea the life it would take on. At the time I just wanted to work on a literary magazine and nobody else would let me work on theirs. So I started my own, with no editorial or publishing experience, only ideas on how it "ought to be done." Over the past 7 years, NTM published over 2000 poems by almost 300 poets. This is one of my proudest accomplishments and I thank all the poets who gave NTM the honor of publishing their poems.

Anyone who edits a publication knows the amount of time and energy required to start and maintain a literary magazine. After 7 years of channeling much of my time and energy into NTM I decided that I very much wish to channel it into new directions. The week of October 17 will be NTM's final week. Jill Alexander Essbaum, one of NTM's earliest contributors and the author of the magazine's most popular poem, has graciously agreed to be our final guest.

Our archives will remain online and accessible indefinitely. No Tell Books will publish Lea Graham's Hough & Helix & Where & Here & You, You, You in August. After that No Tell Books will take a hiatus from publishing new titles. I will use that time to further support the backlist and revaluate the direction of the press. It is my intention relaunch No Tell Books sometime in the near future.

I have already shared this news with some friends. A few expressed sadness and offered suggestions on how I could continue running NTM or the possibility of passing it down to a new editor. I'm not sad about NTM ending. Everything has a lifespan. Also, there is nothing stopping other potential editors from launching their own publication using or modifying NTM's format if they wish to do so.

Thank you for being a reader of No Tell Motel. It's been a true pleasure.

Hooray for Reb (and let's not forget Molly)....Awesome magazine, awesome press, awesome job. Happy to have been a part of it & been witness to the hard work of its editors. Now you deserve a break & a chance to refocus your energy. The poetry world thanks you!

Reb - you've had a fantastic run and it's been a pleasure to see all the great work you've featured over the years. I'm sad to see No Tell Motel close its doors, but know that energy will be rechanneled in other ways. Thanks for being a great example of what a literary journal can do to foster a real community of writers!